St. Mary's: 'We're here for the long term'
By PAUL ROY
Independent Herald Publisher
HUNTSVILLE — Pleased with their reception in Scott County and optimistic about the future growth of healthcare services here, officials of Mercy Health Partners (MHP) has proposed a long-term lease agreement with the Scott County Board of Commissioners which will eventually give them ownership of the hospital.
MHP Chief Executive Officer Debra London, meeting with commissioners in a work session at the Scott County Office Building here Monday night, proposed a 10-year lease with two five-year renewals, during which her company would invest “in excess of $30 million” in improvements, and following that 20-year lease agreement, would “buy Scott County Hospital for $1.”
She said she wanted the commissioners to know “we’re here for the long term.”
London reviewed the progress which has been made at the hospital in the four months since assuming the lease from Attentus Healthcare, noting that MHP has already invested $317,000 in new equipment, made a three percent wage adjustment for employees, funded a pension plan, added educational opportunities, remodeled the hospital lobby, begun physician recruitment efforts, as well as making plans for a $2 million renovation of the Emergency Department, a $2 million investment in the Operating Room suite, and a $75,000 redesign of the Intensive Care Unit. Also on the horizon, London stated, was establishing a $1.8 million outpatient imaging center.
“Our goal is to keep as much health care as possible in the community,” London said.
London was accompanied by Glyn Hughes, senior vice president of business development; David A. Nowiski, senior vice president and chief financial officer; Alan Watson, St. Mary’s Scott County chief executive officer; Jerry Askew, senior vice president for external affairs; Marty Margetts, senior vice president of human resources; and Jack Bryan, community hospital division chief executive officer.
London’s proposal was preceded by a brief review of developments since MHP assumed the lease, which began with her saying, “We’ve been pretty good partners . . . and want to show you we have fulfilled our commitments to you.”
She then outlined efforts made in physician recruitment, employee benefits, facility and equipment improvements, and community contributions, all of which, she said, has resulted in an increase in both in-patient and out-patient visits.
“We’re very focused on quality,” London said. “No matter what it costs.”
London then launched into an overview of MHP’s future plans to expand and update the health care programs, before actually asking the commissioners to consider her long-term lease proposal.
Saying she knew “our competitors” have also expressed an interest in a lease of the local hospital, she said MHP’s proposal is “not just about money, but about relationships.”
In response to a question posed by Fifth District Commissioner Paul Strunk, CFO David Nowiski explained that the investment plan to fund future improvements will be based on five percent of the net revenues.
“At the end of five years, based on our first quarter projections, we’ll be in the $1.1 to $1.2 million [a year] range — a minimum of $5 to $6 million at the end of the first five years,” Nowiski said, adding that it was “in our best interest to invest sooner rather than later.”
Bryan, meanwhile, said the order of improvements would see the Imaging Center come first, followed by the Emergency Department, ICU and, finally, the Operating Room.
First District Commissioner Odeva Byrd, Second District Commissioner Clyde Zachary, and Fourth District Commissioner Dennis Sexton all expressed praise for the dramatic turn-around of patient care and staff morale since MHP had assumed the lease.
“You can tell a difference to what was before,” Sexton stated.
But — apparently in reference to the economic conditions — there was a word of caution issued by Third District Commissioner Ernest Phillips, who said the “unknown is scary . . . you don’t know what’s going to happen after two years [the length of the lease assumption from Attentus Healthcare].”
“We’ve got some stability now . . . if you say ‘yes,’ we’re here to stay,” London responded.
Nowiski pointed out that MHP is currently operating under the terms of the lease with Attentus, and is now requesting a contract of their own — “just a two-party contract.”
As the discussion wound down, it was agreed that officials of MHP would put their proposal in writing, submit it to the commission for review and then turn it over to attorneys from both sides to work out the details before a formal vote was taken — a process which could take months to complete.